Everyone's favorite gigantic, havoc-wreaking lizard, Godzilla, is on his way back to the big screen via Legendary Pictures, which has acquired the rights to develop and produce a new feature based on the iconic Toho Co. character. Warner Bros. will co-produce, co-finance and distribute through its deal with Legendary, and Toho will roll out the film in Japan.

Dan Lin, Roy Lee and Brian Rogers are also producing; Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira and Doug Davison will be executive producers on the project.

The last major Godzilla outing, an American, New York-set version from Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, grossed $376 million worldwide in 1998 despite fielding equally major criticism. Toho quickly produced "Godzilla 2000," in which the big beast took on an evil UFO, the following year.

But the Godzilla franchise juggernaut has survived decades of permutations (he first appeared in 1954), dozens of films, books, video games and merchandising tie-ins and seems perpetually ready to rear up again for new audiences.

The new film is shooting for a 2012 release.

"Godzilla is one of the world's most powerful pop culture icons, and we at Legendary are thrilled to be able to create a modern epic based on this long-loved Toho franchise," said Thomas Tull, chairman and CEO of Legendary. "Our plans are to produce the Godzilla that we, as fans, would want to see. We intend to do justice to those essential elements that have allowed this character to remain as pop culturally relevant for as long as it has."

Added Jeff Robinov, president of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, "Godzilla is emblematic of the kind of branded, event films for which Warner Bros. and our partners at Legendary are best known."

The two companies have partnered on such global properties as "Batman Begins," "The Dark Knight," "Superman Returns" and "The Hangover," which have grossed more than $2 billion worldwide. Together, they have a remake of "Clash of the Titans" stomping into theaters Friday.

Still no proper look at Godzilla's head, but this awesome new concept art does give us a look at the big guy (and we mean BIG..bigger than he's ever been depicted before by the looks of it) emerging from the deep while civilians scatter in terror..
Read more at http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansit...JhS3g88lSaV.99

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“There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy.” - Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man

Godzilla (2014) has officially wrapped up filming as of yesterday and director Gareth Edwards and company flew straight from the final shoot to San Diego Comic-Con last night in time to prepare for tomorrow's BIG Godzilla reveal!

So what can we expect from Legendary tomorrow in Hall H for their Godzilla reveal? Well, sources claim that the studio is planning to reveal what their new Godzilla looks like in some kind of video - official trailer or no. Attendees of the Godzilla Encounter got a sneak peak at the new King, via a CGI simulator (NOT a clip from the movie), which shows a portion of Godzilla's face as he looks into a window (which you're pretending to stand behind). Deadline managed to snap a pic of this simulator, and even though the quality isn't that great, you can still make out Godzilla's glowing red eyes!

Also, in Legendary's Godzilla Encounter, they had a number of Godzilla models and heads on display behind glass. Now, it's important to note that these are NOT models of the new Godzilla. The new Godzilla model was apparently under a black cloth, with the id card reading "Legendary's GODZILLA" or something to that effect. So, no one has really seen what the new Godzilla looks like in full. But below are a couple images of those Godzilla models which were on display, courtesy of Collider.com:

Sites reporting that any of the above images are of the new Godzilla are simply wrong. Legendary has kept a tight lip on their design for the new Godzilla, and will remain to do so until their reveal tomorrow afternoon in Hall H. Whether or not this leaks online or is publicly available, has yet to be seen. But from accounts of those visiting the Godzilla Encounter in San Diego, Godzilla looks like Godzilla. No mutant Iguanas this time.

So, with filming now complete, the post-production can take flight, and expect the viral marketing campaign to pick up steam as well. For those attending Comic-Con this year, don't miss Legendary's presentation in Hall H between 10:45am and 1:15pm tomorrow!

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“There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy.” - Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man

Godzilla, the instantly recognizable, radioactive, B-movie monster with his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, will be 60 years old when he stomps into theaters in May of 2014. Based on the iconic Japanese film series, Godzilla is being directed by Gareth Edwards (Monsters) and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kick-Ass, Anna Karenina), Elizabeth Olsen (Silent House) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) .

Godzilla has been a culturally relevant anti-hero since he first premiered as Ishiro Honda’s Gojira in 1954. Inspired by the success of King Kong, and reeling from the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Godzilla was meant to be a mutant force of nature, the result of humanity’s scientific arrogance. Born from the sea, half dinosaur, half gorilla, Godzilla is immune to heavy voltages of electrical power, crushes trains with his feet, has an atomic beam that fires from his mouth, a massive roar that can tumble buildings (an effect originally created by rubbing sandpaper over leather gloves), and brings home the message: when you mess with nature, nature always wins.

The final shooting script by Frank Darabont (Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, The Majestic) has added two additional monsters to help Godzilla kick butt and take names. The film has a gritty, serious nature, going back to his roots, but has added an extra dimension of an emotional character storyline. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is a young U.S. Marine trying to save his wife (Elizabeth Olsen, playing a nurse) and child. Brian Cranston plays a PHD. scientist who starts an investigation after he discovers a peculiar pattern on his sonar monitoring device in his Japanese lab. It isn’t long before all hell breaks loose. Juliette Binoche (Cosmopolis, Chocolat), David Strathairn (Linclon), and Ken Watanabe (Batman Begins, Inception) also star.

Five time Oscar nominee Alexandre Desplat (Argo, The Queen, The King’s Speech, Harry Potter: The Deathly Hallows, Part 1 and Part 2) is composing the score.

Legendary Pictures is producing with Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Brian Rogers and Thomas Tull. Get ready, May 16, 2014 is almost here!

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“There is no absolute knowledge. And those who claim it, whether they are scientists or dogmatists, open the door to tragedy.” - Jacob Bronowski, The Ascent of Man